A typical example of prior art information content display means is Microsoft Internet Explorer®, a browser of Microsoft Corporation. This browser is arranged such that a plurality of successively linked hypertext contents such as HTML documents can be displayed on one window on a computer display screen. When a mouse is clicked on a displayed content at a location where linking to other content is defined, the other content to be linked to is displayed on the same window as or on a different window from the window on which the first content is displayed. With this browser, when one content changes to another linked content, change of the displayed images is not continuous. Therefore, it is difficult for a user to understand the relations between successively linked contents, and, sometimes the user tends to become at a loss where in the linkage he or she is.
The inventors have proposed means for solving the above-described problems. Specifically, they disclosed “APPLICATION PROGRAM STARTING METHOD, RECORDING MEDIUM ON WHICH SAID APPLICATION PROGRAM IS RECORDED, AND COMPUTER SYSTEM” in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No HEI 11-24878 A laid open for public inspection on Jan. 29, 1999, which corresponds to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/974,246 filed on Nov. 19, 1997; “ELECTRONIC INFORMATION DISPLAYING METHOD, ELECTRONIC INFORMATION BROWSING APPARATUS AND ELECTRONIC INFORMATION BROWSING PROGRAM RECORDING MEDIUM” in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-172248 A laid open for public inspection on Jun. 23, 2000, which corresponds to U.S. Ser. No. 09/407,376 filed on Sep. 28, 1999; “DOCUMENT DISPLAY APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DISPLAYING DOCUMENTS” in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-207269 A laid open for public inspection on Jul. 28, 2000, which corresponds to U.S. Ser. No. 09/473,049 filed on Dec. 28. 1999; and “DOCUMENT BROWSING SYSTEM, AND DATA READ-IN APPARATUS AND DOCUMENT DISPLAY APPARATUS FOR USE IN DOCUMENT BROWSiNG SYSTEM” in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-60166 A laid open for public inspection on Mar. 6, 2001. These publications disclose a technique enabling browsing successively linked information contents by traversing the linkage by smoothly moving a viewpoint, whereby a user can instantly understand the linkage between the contents during browsing.
However, with the techniques disclosed in the Japanese publications cited above, depending on system conditions or content conditions, it is frequently impossible to smoothly change the images by shifting a visual field, in such a case that the wait state occurs due to reading in content data or an amount of processing increases to thereby lessen the processing capacity for the purpose when the content data is read in. Furthermore, since content data reading and display preparation procedures of the systems are not optimized, it frequently takes a long time until a desired content is displayed. Also, there remain undeveloped areas in methods for displaying, on the same display screen, different types of contents including three-dimensional images and moving images or for enabling contents of additional types to be displayed.
An object of the present invention is to provide means which enables easier attainment of a desired one of information objects, in displaying the linked information objects in an information processing apparatus, by traversing the links between successively linked information objects.
Another object of the invention is to provide smoother image change with visual field shifting in displaying linked information objects in an information processing apparatus.
Still another object of the invention is to reduce time required for a desired content to be displayed.
Further objects of the invention are to enable different types of contents to be displayed, to provide integrating means for displaying different types of contents, and to facilitate an additional type of content to be displayed.